Emergency crews rushed to the scene after two passenger trains collided north of London on Friday evening, killing at least one person and injuring more than 80 others. Survivors described scenes of panic and chaos as the impact hurled passengers from their seats, leaving many with broken bones and bloodied injuries.

Recalling the terrifying moments after the crash nearBedford, passenger Dr Pete Knapp told the Press Association, "There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke. People were crying, screaming, people were so scared and confused."

The two trains, both bound forLondonSt Pancras station, collided outside Bedford at around 5.15 pm local time, according to rail tracking data.

Recalling the impact, Knapp said there had been no warning. "There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front and then I saw smoke. People were crying, screaming, people were so scared and confused."

"My first thought was I needed to get out of the train just in case it was a terrorist explosion, I thought it was safer to get off the train," he said.

Another passenger, Shola Mene, told the BBC that there was 'a big bang' and 'then people flew from the seats.'

"Someone just flew across and hit my husband in the face. There was a lot of blood. A lot of people had facial injuries," Mene said.

In another interview, Knapp compared the scene to a bomb blast. "When I got up, I saw all of the chairs everywhere, I felt like I had been in a bomb explosion. When I got up, I saw people's bloodied faces, people's legs looked broken. There was smoke everywhere," he told the BBC.

Social media footage from the scene showed injured passengers inside damaged carriages, while others with bandages were seen sitting beside the railway tracks after being evacuated.

The RMT union, which represents many railway workers, said it was monitoring the situation and expressed its concern over reports of "serious injuries" sustained by both train staff and passengers.

Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now